Chapter 8 ….

Aymus listened so intently, empathizing as though it were his own problem, that Harry was secretly surprised.

This was the first boy since Jesse who had such an incredible ability to empathize with others.

Because of that, she began taking their conversation more seriously, even though she had only started talking to him as a way to save face.

“So are you planning to go back to Korea too?”

“I didn’t mean I’m going back to Korea right away. My parents still have their business here…… and I’ve been studying for the SAT this whole time. It’d be hard to suddenly switch over to the Korean entrance exams now.”

The SAT was the American college entrance exam, and naturally it differed quite a bit from Korea’s CSAT.

Only after hearing her explanation did Aymus finally relax his serious expression.

“You scared me.”

The look on his face really did seem genuinely startled, and Harry let out a laugh.

It looked like the thought of her suddenly leaving America had shocked him quite a bit.

‘Maybe he really does think of me as a friend.’

That must have been why he offered to help her pick out a dress.

She should have realized it from then on.

Aymus was Jesse’s friend, and Jesse was Harry’s friend too.

So it was not strange at all for Aymus and Harry to become friends as well.

“Even if my family goes back to Korea, I think I’d probably stay here.”

“Because of JJ?”

Take back what she said about being friends with Aymus.

His sudden direct question hit the mark so perfectly that Harry nearly slammed on the brakes by accident.

“What are you talking about? Of course it’s because of college.”

“Right.”

Even after hearing his response, she still could not relax.

Harry secretly glanced sideways at Aymus, who had already returned to his usual expressionless face.

‘Did he notice I have a crush on Jesse?’

Maybe she had given herself away yesterday at the mall when she got too excited over Jesse’s photoshoot.

‘He’s not going to tell Jesse, is he?’

She could already imagine Aymus tattling to Jesse that Harry obviously had feelings for him.

As she shook her head hard, trying to chase the thought away, Aymus spoke.

“Why don’t you try getting your brother into sports?”

While Harry had been suspicious of him, he had apparently been seriously thinking about advice he could offer her.

“There’s nothing better for boys than sports. It also makes it easier to make friends.”

“Ah, sports.”

She felt embarrassed and guilty for misunderstanding him.

Hoping he would not notice her flushed face, Harry forced herself to answer casually.

“We were actually planning to do that. Before Jesse got busy.”

“Why JJ?”

“Jesse originally said he’d teach my little brother hockey. But, well, you know.”

Harry shrugged.

“Jesse has been busy lately.”

“Yeah, he does seem busy hanging around girls.”

The comment scratched at her nerves in a strange way, and Harry turned to look at him.

Meanwhile, Aymus stared straight ahead with such a calm, still expression that it almost looked lifeless, as though nothing unusual had happened at all.

‘Am I just being sensitive?’

Maybe because she secretly had feelings for Jesse, she was getting worked up all by herself.

Right before she looked away from him, Aymus suddenly turned his head, and their eyes met directly.

“I can replace Jesse.”

“Huh?”

“If you want.”

Harry had to force her brain to work overtime so she would not misunderstand his words and instead take them exactly as they were.

“You mean you’d teach my little brother hockey? You?”

Aymus nodded, but Harry still looked doubtful.

“I don’t know……. My brother is really shy around strangers.”

“If one-on-one lessons are uncomfortable for him, there’s also group lessons with other kids. The hockey coach teaches little kids on weekends too.”

“Huh? That’s allowed?”

The hockey coach was still a Riverside School staff member, so she wondered if having another job like that was permitted.

Her question was answered very simply.

“Riverside is a private school. And if there are talented kids among them, they scout them into the school. Some kids even start learning hockey specifically for that.”

“Ahhh.”

If it was for discovering talented students, then it made sense for the school to allow it.

“If your brother is aiming for one of the Riverside Foundation schools too, it’d be a good opportunity.”

“At this point, I’d honestly just be grateful if any school would accept my brother…….”

Riverside School was one of the top five elite private schools in New York.

Unless her brother turned out to have exceptional talent in hockey, they could not even dream of submitting an application right now.

“Still, thanks for the advice. I’ll talk to my brother about it again.”

They could not keep waiting endlessly for Jesse forever.

Both Harry and Robin needed to get used to life without Jesse around.

“I’m glad if I could help.”

And eventually, she would probably get used to this boy’s presence too.

Harry looked at Aymus sitting beside her and smiled weakly.

In the silence that followed, the car safely arrived at the school parking lot.

“Thanks for the ride.”

After getting out of the passenger seat, Aymus walked with her all the way to the lockers.

“See you later.”

Naturally promising there would be a next time, he turned away and pulled out his phone.

A new message had just arrived.

[You filthy bastard.

Stop messing around with girls.]

He skimmed over the message with indifferent eyes before casually turning the screen off again.

He assumed it was just some prank from someone with too much free time.

To Harry, Aymus Huntington was someone who constantly reminded her of Jesse’s absence.

Still, if she had to put a label on it, she supposed they could be called friends.

But the female students at Riverside School thought very differently from her.

And understandably so. Aymus Huntington was the most handsome boy in school, the ace of the hockey team, and currently did not have a girlfriend.

So naturally, people constantly talked about who Aymus’s homecoming partner would be.

“Aymus, there’s a rumor going around that you still haven’t found a homecoming partner. Is it true?”

Before she knew it, time had passed and the homecoming party was right around the corner.

Even by then, nobody knew who his partner would be.

‘And here I thought he actually listened when I told him to hurry if there was a girl he liked.’

Was she mistaken?

Harry asked curiously, and Aymus lazily tilted his chin.

“There’s no girl I want to go with.”

“……There are probably a lot of girls who’d be heartbroken hearing that.”

Well, honestly, whether Aymus had a partner or not had absolutely nothing to do with her.

Even if he decided not to attend the party at all.

There would still be plenty of friends at the party welcoming Jesse.

In her heart, Harry offered a moment of silence for the girls at Riverside School.

If she had known the disaster waiting for her soon, she would never have been this carefree.

Disaster struck her like lightning without any warning.

And of all days, it happened on the very day of the homecoming party.

“You can’t come today?”

—I’m really sorry, Riri. I never expected something like this to suddenly come up either.

Jesse kept explaining himself over the phone, but Harry could not understand a single word.

More accurately, none of his words were even reaching her ears.

Barely holding back tears that threatened to spill out at any moment, Harry managed to speak.

“You should’ve told me sooner…….”

Excited to finally attend a party with Jesse again after such a long time, she had finished preparing early.

She had reduced the swelling in her face, gotten a massage, styled her hair, and done all her makeup.

She was even wearing the dress she bought while shopping with Aymus.

All that remained was stepping outside the door, yet now Jesse was saying he could not come.

—I’m sorry. It’s completely my fault.

Jesse sincerely apologized, explaining that he had been trying to find a way to cancel his work but finally realized it was impossible, which was why he was only calling now.

Even listening to his apologies felt painful.

Forcing herself to smile somehow, Harry replied,

“No. It’s okay. It’s not like it’s for some random reason. If it’s work, then there’s nothing you can do.”

—I’m really, really sorry. So instead, I asked Aymus to escort you. So…….

“What?”

At that moment, Harry vividly understood what it meant for blood to run cold.

“You asked who to do what?”

—Riri. I only did it for you…….

“If you really cared about me, then you shouldn’t have done this at all. I’m not some coat you can just hand off to another person!”

—You know that’s not what I meant.

Jesse’s pleading voice came through the phone, but that did not magically erase the hurt he had caused her.

“I can decide for myself who I spend time with and what I do. So I’ll politely decline your suggestion.”

—Riri!

Harry immediately hung up.

It was the first time she had ever ended a call before Jesse did, and her heart pounded wildly.

She stared at her phone, half wondering if the whole thing had been a dream.

But Jesse never called back, nor did he send another message.

“That’s so unfair…….”

Jesse breaking promises with her was something she could tolerate as much as necessary.

He was supporting himself alone now, and things like today had happened several times before, so she was used to it.

But handing her off to another man—

That was something he absolutely should never have done.

The tears she had been holding back finally poured out.

She had completely forgotten about the makeup she had painstakingly done and was sobbing uncontrollably when—

[Harry, is something wrong?]

Maybe because voices had gotten loud during the phone call, her mother knocked outside the door and asked worriedly.

[Nothing’s wrong.]

Not wanting anyone to see her crying, Harry hurriedly wiped away her tears with tissues.

[If nothing’s wrong, could you come out for a moment? Jesse’s friend is here. He said his name was Aymus.]

Harry froze like stone while wiping her tears.

Aymus was already here?